Final Update: July-September 2021
Since the previous update, the Our Hearts with You project has continued to progress at a steady pace. At last, the final phase of planning for the research unit has been completed. The unit will benefit from the input of a network of 60 doctors who are trained in research basics and methodology, as well as close ties with several leading Syrian universities. Building these networks has been a valuable experience, and the team put together focus groups which worked to identify all the key takeaways and points raised. As a result, the team have 15 dedicated doctors who are able to receive research consultations.
Looking forward, it has always been the ambition of OHWY to write a book which details useful research basics. The team are confident this will be finished within the next 7 months, and we look forward to following this next step.
Update 2: April-June 2021
The team working hard on Our Hearts With You continue to excel. Building on the success in its first phase, the team has begun to train in practice. The research training will benefit more than 60 people, more than initially thought and has been carried out in cooperation with Damascus University and lecturers from several other universities. The training has also been adapted to an online format, and by the beginning of next month roughly 15 research teams will be formed. In order to ensure this runs smoothly and to a high standard, about 15 research supervisors have been recruited.
In addition, the team plan to produce a book containing a summary of the information every doctor will require when carrying out scientific research. This is an impressive undertaking, and will be shared with the Fund for the benefit of others when finished.
Update 1: February-March 2021
The Syrian doctors behind Our Hearts with You (OHWY) have made great progress towards their goal of providing free healthcare and awareness within Aleppo, Damascus, Rif Dimashq and Homs. With a significant team of volunteers and medical professionals behind them, they are ready to share their knowledge with the next generation of Syrian medical workers and researchers.
Thus far, OHWY have outlined their plans to train a research team on writing up medical reports and statistics. These potential researchers have been identified as potentially coming from places such as Damascus University and the Syrian Association for the Support of Scientific Research. A rough timeline has been erected that puts the training sessions for these researchers at roughly once a week for two months.
The plan after this team has been designed and trained, is to put them to work to help write up academic papers and format scientific research.
OHWY have also identified the areas that are going to require financial backing such as rooms to provide these training sessions in and the costs for publishing along the way. In outlining their first steps in their first report to the REF, Our Hearts with You looks on the correct track to reach its aim of medical support in Syria – both theoretically and in practice. We are interested to see how their progress develops over the coming months and getting a targeted numbers of beneficiaries as the research team is created.